Flying into the Blue
by Iris Cornelia Jade
Summary: It starts with an accident, continues without plan, and ends with something undefinable. The story of how four-no, seven-no, ten girls changed a bit of history, fixed an ancient mistake, and found a bit of themselves in the process.
1. Chapter 1

**_READ THIS OR YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND A SINGLE THING._  
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**Instead of going 'out-with-old-in-with-new,' I've decided to go nostalgia and relive some moments and fulfill something I promised a while ago.**

**The Number Three Forum in the 39 Clues (Fans to Fanatics) has a Story Factory. A Story Factory is where many writers come together to write a story, one passage at a time.**

**Currently, the story me and fellow authors are working on is about killing Damien Vesper.**

**I promised to publish the story, since my friends are rather pressed on time.**

**I publish the story now:**

**We currently have...er...**

**Let me get back to you on that.**

**We have Lapulta J.R.R. Cahill, who we will refer to in here as Laps, Lappy, Lap, Lapulta, Pulta, or (in rare occasions) Sarah. PLEASE NOTE: When referred to as Pulta, it usually implies this is her when she is immersed in the medieval world. Confused? You'll get it as we progress in the story.**

**We have Hello2323, who we will refer to in here as Hello. That's about it.**

**We have Evanescence456, who we will refer to in here as Eva, and perhaps Nessi, Clover, or Amy Lee. PLEASE NOTE: While her alibi may be Amy Lee Hartzler, her nickname is not.**

**We have Theo Telshalla-Arieda Gardner, who we will refer to in here as Arieda and pretty much nothing else. That's about it.**

**And, of course, we shall have me. I will be referred to as Iris and only Iris. And, PLEASE NOTE: Zinnia Hadley is an alibi. Nothing more. Confused? Read until you reach it.**

**We have (in retrospect at first, appearing more frequently later) RageRunsStill, who we will refer to here as Rage and pretty much nothing else...she doesn't play a big role until quite a bit later.**

**We will later have she who sets fire to the rain, formerly MagicCahill, who we will refer to here as Magic. And nothing else. PLEASE NOTE: References to her are irregular and may begin to deteriorate as time goes on. She was a rather late addition.**

**We will later have Dream's Penumbra, formerly DarkeningTurquoise, who we will refer to her as Turq and almost nothing else. PLEASE NOTE: You may not see her until a few chapters in, but she will be a very important addition...I say no more.**

**We will later have VampyrycPineapple, who we will refer to as Pine and (I think) nothing else. PLEASE NOTE: She'll be a late addition of uncertain importance...**

**We will later have DeviousDragons, who we will refer to as Devi and (I think) nothing else. PLEASE NOTE: See above note for VampyrycPineapple. The same applies to Devi.**

**There may be more people added, but we'll talk about them as time goes on.**

**The only people you have to note for this chapter are the people from the beginning to the asterick.**

**You may notice common POV changes. Well, that's because some people posted one line after one line, or posted a short passage, or something. Please don't be mad about it.**

**Oh, and, getting back to that, we have...ten people? Maybe more later.**

**If you're still confused, please send me a PM. Well, that's that!**

**Without further ado, onto the story!**

**OH, and one more thing: All these people are Madrigals of some sort, whether double agents or in by heritage. You'll learn what branch they are as time goes on.**

**And...the title...well, look out for a fly that lands on a blue button. ;)**

* * *

><p>"We have a time machine, and nobody knows how to use it." Lapulta put her forehead down on the panel and sighed dramatically, as if she were going to faint from lack of knowledge.<p>

"It's not that bad," Hello rolled her eyes and tapped the glass sides of the cube. "Look. There's a button inside of it."

Eva scrunched up her nose and frowned. "Rage ought to be back any minute, and she's the one that made it. I counsel that we wait for her."

Iris cared nothing for the advice. "Come _on_," she urged grabbing Hello's hand and dragging her into the machine. "Rage is at her Ekat meeting! It'll take FOREVER for her to get out. Let's go!"

Lapulta looked up, finding Iris, Hello and Eva all standing inside the glass cube. This wasn't good. "We have to wait. Rage said we couldn't touch ANYTHING."

"What about this button?" Eva asked, curiously looking up at a big blue button in the top corner of the glass. Her voice was muffled badly, making it almost impossible to hear her.

Lapulta walked inside the cube, frowning and biting her lip. "Come on guys, get out."

"But we just got in," Hello begged. "One little push won't hurt, please?"

"We need Rage," Lapulta said firmly. "And that's _final_."

"THERE'S A FLY!" Iris suddenly screamed. Faster than any of the girls could say 'Damien Vesper', she had her jacket off and swung it around like a deadly lance, swatting it at the fly. Lapulta could see everything as if it were in slow motion; the fly landing blissfully on the high blue button, unaware of the jacket swinging towards him - the jacket big and red heading towards its blue target.

"NO!" Lapulta screeched. But it was too late.

There was a blinding flash, and everything turned black.

* * *

><p>The last thing Hello heard before she was smashed into the time machine's wall was Lapulta screeching: "NO!" There'd been a moment of confusion, a bit of frantic shuffling, and then there was a blinding flash and…and…<p>

_Ugh! Darn it!_

She couldn't remember anything else. Had she been mind wiped or something? No, wait…the only people here were her friends.

On that note, where exactly was _here?_

Hello eased herself off the wall, prying her eyelids open. Around her lay Eva, Lapulta, and Iris. All of them were sprawled awkwardly around the time machine. None of them were conscious.

Hello crawled to Lapulta and violently shook her by the shoulders "Lapulta, wake up!"

"Don't go into the time machine!" she yelled, waking up. "Huh-wha-where are we?" she asked looking around bewildered

"I don't know," Hello said "But, let's wake up Eva and Iris first."

"Good idea."

Hello started to get up, but a stabbing pain in her ankle stopped her and she fell to the ground clutching her ankle.

"What is it?" Lapulta asked.

"I think my ankle's…I don't know…dislocated or something."

"Great, just what we need." Lapulta sighed. "I know a bit first aid, I'll help if I can…but we really need someone to get it back in place."

* * *

><p>Eva was in a dream. A blissful dream, full of rainbows and chocolate fountains.<p>

That is, until _SOMEONE _woke her up.

Her Lucian/Madrigal instincts combined, she leaped up in a single motion and smacked whoever it was across the face.

"Oh. My. Gosh. I'm so sorry, Lappy!" Eva wailed, with an angry Lapulta glaring in her direction. "But I must admit, you deserve it. You should know by now not to wake me up!"

Eva hopped out of the time machine and looked inside her coat, inspecting her weapons: a dart gun, a dagger, a few mini vibro knifes, and a few poisons. Yep. All there and accounted for. There were all hidden in her black coat with dark red roses that looked like blood spots.

When she looked up, her breath literally hitched in her throat.

"Guys, you might wanna see this..."

* * *

><p>Hello limped out of the time machine, followed by Lapulta, who was supporting her by the shoulders. Her eyes widened in horror as she watched the scene in front of them. A woman with raven-black hair and dazzling green eyes sat by a burned house, a man's head rested on her lap. Hello looked at Eva and Lappy, and knew their expressions were mirroring hers—a blend of fear, amazement, shock and anger.<p>

"We went back in time," breathed Lappy.

Hello nodded her head vigorously, amazed that the time machine actually worked.

"Rage is going to have our heads," Hello muttered.

"Uh, I highly doubt that's our biggest problem. We're in the _fifteenth century, for Pete's sake!_"

"But how? I thought the time machine didn't work!" Eva exclaimed.

"I don't know" Lapulta said, still staring.

Suddenly a dark figure approached Olivia Cahill. The figure was dressed in a black cloak, and the shadows concealed most of his face, but all three girls recognized him.

"Damien Vesper," Hello spat.

* * *

><p>Eva refrained from taking out her dagger and stabbing him right then and there.<p>

If she did, it would change the course of the future drastically.

* * *

><p>Hello saw Eva's fingers twitch, a sure sign that she was about to take out her dagger and kill Damien. Hello stared at her, at the last minute Eva's fingers stopped twitching. It seemed she had refrained herself. Hello stared at the cloaked figure; she too was having a hard time refraining from shooting Damien. She sighed and looked at Lapulta, who was oddly quiet.<p>

"What now?" Eva asked.

Hello stared at the silhouette of the retreating Damien, grimacing.

"Well, while we're stuck here, we might as well find some food, clothes and jobs," Hello said.

"Where do we get all that from?" Lapulta asked.

Hello nodded towards Olivia.

Lapulta rolled her eyes. "Honestly? Gideon just _died_. You might want to rephrase your thinking. Women who are now widows do not readily give away their only possessions—especially possessions that were previously possessed by their own children who just scattered over the world. Think for a moment, will you?"

Both Eva and Hello glared at her, but Iris nodded. "Lappy has a point. Olivia wouldn't be best."

"So who else?" Eva snapped, fingering the dagger again.

Lapulta swallowed hard, staring at the weapon. It would feel so good to have that in her hard and step forward - kill him; let the knife slice through all penetrating material. Olivia was talking to Damien now - accusing him. Luke, Katherine, Thomas and Jane had already left. "We must make ourselves friends of Damien - make him trust us. Then, later on, we can defeat him. We _must_ defeat him."

And all the girls smiled.

* * *

><p>Eva nodded. Using her Madrigal stealth, she crept along the bushes, watching Damien the whole time.<p>

She walked slowly, her footfalls not making any noise. She could barely hear parts of the conversation, and concentrated fiercely on getting closer…but something shook her thoughts out of focus.

* * *

><p>Arieda stumbled out of the time machine, shocked and red faced. All she had felt was a crash and then everything had gone blue. Yes, blue, not black. Weird.<p>

She studied the setting she was in. A rural area, filled with grass and green for miles to go. Probably somewhere in Ireland. Arieda's eyes widened.

It couldn't be. She looked back at the contraption that Areida had woken up in. Could it be a Time Machine? If so, then who else was in there? Arieda was sure she had heard voices before she had blacked out. Or blued-out, in this case. Deciding it was best to just keep walking and maybe explore the island, Arieda set off.

She was running along a dirt trail, when she saw some very familiar faces all looking at a point beyond a couple of bushes. _What are THEY doing here? Were those the voices I heard? Or am I turning shizo? _Areida thought. She was about to step back when she felt a sneeze come on. Due to her training, Arieda knew fully-well how to stop a sneeze without much noise. The problem was that it required a little arm room.

Something she didn't have. The branch near her cracked and caused all heads to turn to her.

* * *

><p>Iris, Hello, Lappy and Eva all turned around, startled by Arieda's appearance.<p>

"What are you doing here?" Eva spoke at last.

"I was h-hiding i-in the time m-machine," Areida stuttered. The others looked skeptical, but shared a glance and nodded. They'd met her before.

"Hey, want to join our killing spree-" Eva started, but was interrupted by Hello.

"Eva, this is NOT a killing spree!" she scolded, but a smile was spreading across her face even as she spoke.

* * *

><p>Hello smiled at the idea of her killing Damien. She looked towards Olivia, who was arguing silently with Damien. Hello followed after Eva, careful not to make any noise. She tapped Eva on her shoulder tentatively before springing back as Eva jumped and pointed her dagger at Hello's throat.<p>

"Hey, watch where you point that thing!" She whispered.

"Sorry," Eva muttered.

Hello waved at Lapulta and Iris to come forward.

"Okay, so we know we're going to get close to Damien, but what are we going to tell him? How are we going to gain his trust?" Hello asked.

"Well, didn't Damien have an obsession with America? Didn't he want to take it over?" Lapulta said.

"Yeah, so?" Hello asked.

"Well, if we tell him we've been to America, he'll readily let us in to hear our story. He's too greedy to resist" Iris pointed out.

"Yeah, that's a good plan," Eva said, looking at Damien with pure hatred. "But how do we get in without being recognized?" By this, she was referring to their visage. With Eva's Luke-esque trademark scowl, conniving look, and attitude, Iris and Lapulta's Olivia/Madeleine matrilineal heritage, and a variety of other similarities, it would be almost impossible to get in unnoticed.

Eva opened a bag, revealing a wig and a pair of colored contacts.

"A Lucian's always prepared," she remarked, pulling on the blonde wig and putting the sapphire-blue contacts in her eyes. She never had felt comfortable with her real appearance…

Arieda looked at Eva and sighed

"Eva, he's never seen you before today, I'm pretty sure he won't accuse you of being a Cahill right off the bat," Arieda said dropping her voice at the end.

"Actually, Arieda, we should probably wear such disguises." Lapulta quipped.

Arieda turned to her. "Why?"

"Because we all have a resemblance to the original Cahills, you know, like Hope Cahill and Madeleine Cahill" Iris answered.

"Well, yeah, but like I said—"

"And we mean _really_ close," Hello added. "Like, freakish-clone close."

"Yes, but I highly doubt Vesper cares about Gideon's children. He won't recognize them, he won't recognize us." Arieda countered.

"I still think a disguise would be the best" Iris said, looking at a bug-eyed Eva.

"Well, we don't have any wigs or contacts like Eva," Hello pointed out neutrally.

Eva held out another bag.

"Here you go. There's another blonde wig in there, a red one, a dark brown one, a light brown one, a sun-bleached one, and a black one. And there's another pair of blue eyes, a pair of green ones, a pair of dark brown ones, a pair of light brown ones, a pair of hazel ones, a pair of amber ones, and a pair of black ones. Take your pick."

"I call amber eyes and red hair!" Hello cried.

Eva took out the red wig and amber contacts and handed them to Hello.

"Here you go" She said, smiling wryly.

Hello quickly fitted the wig on her head and placed the contacts in her eyes.

"Wait a sec..." Swooping down, Arieda surveyed the ankle. "I'm trained in first aid." Giving a sad smile, she wrenched the bone into place, and Hello gave only a small grimace.

"What about you guys, what's your pick?" Eva asked, turning to them after watching the procedure.

Areida stood up, looked inside, and chose the green contacts and light brown wig. Nervously, she popped in the contacts. Arieda never wore contacts before, and was half worried about the effects of wearing them.

"So, how exactly are we going to kill Damien Vesper?" she asked.

"I…I honestly don't know."

"You're telling me you barged in here without a plan?"

"It wasn't me! It was Iris who hit the button—"

"Which I did on accident. I'm terrified of bugs, in case you don't remember the last thousand times I've had you kill spiders for me!"

"Alright, we get it! We don't have a plan and we came here on accident!" Lapulta interjected wildly into the budding fight, huffing and restoring order. "Now, Arieda, why did you hide in the time machine again?

"Well, I sort-of got this weird fan-girl mad because I said something bad about Ian Kabra, and she chased me with a dart gun," Arieda blushed.

Despite the situation, Hello cracked a smile. "You got a fan-girl mad? And that's why you're hiding?"

Arieda nodded.

Shooting another _I-can't-believe-that-actually-happened_ glance at Arieda, Hello smiled even wider. "What did you say about Ian Kabra that got her so mad?" She asked curiously.

"Something about a pig headed git," Arieda mumbled.

Lapulta snickered. "I dissed off a fangirl by liking Amy/Evan," she grinned. "Never felt better in my life."

Arieda laughed softly, glad she wasn't the only one with a run-in with a fangirl.

"Ooooookay...at any rate, I call black hair and black eyes!" Iris swooped in and grabbed aforesaid disguises.

"Um...Iris, I hate to break it to you, but you already _have_ black hair and black eyes." Lapulta restrained herself from rolling her eyes with great difficulty.

"I know! That way, when all your wigs fall off and Damien kills you, I'll be able to come out and protect you!"

Everyone collectively sighed, Lapulta shaking her head while grabbing black hair and green eyes –always the Madeleine-freak.

Hello looked at Lappy, smiling at her obsession with the youngest founder.

"Okay, so we have the plan straightened out, but I still say we should at least check up on Olivia regularly while we're here" Hello said.

Lapulta raised her hand quickly. "I second the matter!"

Hello nodded gratefully to Lapulta.

"Thank you, Lapulta. Who else thinks it's a good idea?" She asked.

Arieda raised her hand. "I agree," she replied, to Hello's incessant smile.

"Thank you, Arieda! Anyone have any objection?"

"Nope," Eva muttered, playing with the gold ring on her finger.

"No objections to the plan, but wasn't Madeleine red-haired? To reference the picture in the Black Book..." Iris glanced pointedly at Lapulta, who stuck her tongue out.

Eva nodded. "I agree with Iris. Jade-green eyes and reddish-brown hair."

Hello looked at Iris and Eva and frowned.

"That really is irrelevant. We're trying to kill Damien, not be Cahill-appearance-wise historically accurate," Hello said.

"Ok, so all of us have disguises and we have a pla—er, a half plan. Now, how do we approach Damien?" Lapulta asked, reverently ignoring Eva and Iris.

Hello shrugged and looked at Eva for an answer.

"What are you looking at me for?" Eva demanded. "Look at her! She has the ideas!"

Eva pointed at Iris.

Hello rolled her eyes, though respecting the comment and turning toward Iris.

Eva sent an icy glare at Hello, silently objecting the eye-roll, and turned to Iris.

Frankly, Eva did not fancy being thrown against numerous people and waking up 500 years back.

Hello raised an eyebrow at aforesaid glare.

"Well," Eva said. "How do we approach Damien?"

"Give a girl some time, would you?" Iris said, rubbing her temples and thinking hard.

Arieda suddenly yelped.

"We don't have much time, 'cause here comes Damien!"


	2. Chapter 2

The girls had all been trained in a state-of-the-art Madrigal facility, of course…but people aren't usually especially brave when the destructor of their forefathers starts ballering toward them like he's seen them and is about to cut off their heads and eat them for breakfast.

So, obviously, despite their natural instincts to battle, all the girls scattered.

(Once again) naturally, it took a grand total of ten seconds for one of them to gain her instincts back.

"Wait," Eva said, stopping short and grabbing Hello by the collar. "Why are we running? We should be facing that jerk, confronting him! Oh, sorry," she added at Hello's wild motions toward her own neck and collar. "But isn't that why we're here? To kill Damien?"

"I do believe we're trying to _appease_ him first by gaining his trust, remember?

Arieda shook her head. "But we don't know what to say!"

"Maybe _you_ don't," quipped Eva, sighing at Arieda's pessimism. "But I do. Leave the talking to me. All you guys have to do is stand in the background."

"Well, maybe we shouldn't do even _that,_" sighed Iris, frowning. "I mean, Lapulta's altered herself to look like Madeleine, and Madeleine looks like Olivia…wait, never mind. Laps chose the wrong wig."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean that in the Black Book, Madeleine has reddish hair and— "

"WHAT?" Lapulta's eyes seemed to bulge out of her sockets.

"Shhhh! He'll hear you!" Iris tugged frantically on Lapulta's arm. "Please, Laps, come down!"

"I don't care!" Lapulta jerked away, flailing wildly. "I'm Madeleine Cahill!"

All the girls shared a glance before simultaneously turning to look at Lapulta.

"Alright, maybe not Madeleine, but in my story she had black hair and green eyes. She's more real to me than any 'Vespers Rising.' Rick actually switched up Katie and Jane!"

"Shut it," Eva finally snapped. "We know all about your obsession; this is now." The girl got in front of the group so she could be the first Damien would meet. She would, after all, be doing the talking.

Damien approached the girls slowly. As he neared, everyone began taking steps backward except for Eva, who glared accusingly at the girls. Relenting, one girl stepped forward again, then another, until all were right in front of Damien.

"Hello, ladies," he said coolly. "To whom do I owe this very late pleasure?"

A tense pause.

"Well then, if you will not answer that, perhaps you are willing to tell me what you are doing outside at this particular hour and place?"

His tone was light, but his eyes were flashing, and there was something unspoken that an outsider might not have been able to understand: _you side with Cahill and you die. _

Eva put on a fake sweet smile. "We are lost, sir."

Damien turned his glare from a general glance at everyone to a critical gaze at Eva, flashing cringe-worthy eyes in her direction. Eva stood her ground, glaring black defiantly.

"How is it possible that girls who have lived here their entire lives are lost?"

"That is where you are mistaken, sir. We spent most of our lives in America, you see."

"America…" He thought for a while, his mind trailing behind him. Musing critically, he began to grin. "The new country?"

"The very same." Eva nodded.

"And have you no shelter or food here?"

"Our family was killed during a storm and a shipwreck. We washed ashore here, and know nothing of this place."

"And _all_ of you are sisters?" Damien glanced witheringly out of the side of one eye. "Surely that is a bit much for one family?"

"No, sir, cousins."

"Very well." There was another pause, as Damien weighed his options quietly. "You may stay with me for the time being, if you wish."

"Thank you, sir, you are too kind," said Eva, trying to stop the sarcasm from flowing into her voice.

If she was unsuccessful, Damien took no notice. "Follow me, then, and I will lead you to my home." He turned, his cloak billowing behind him, racing away until he was out of earshot but in sight.

"Is this natural Vesper behavior?" Iris whispered frantically at Lapulta, who replied, "No, maybe the evil qualities kick in later."

Panting slightly as she struggled to keep up with a sprinting Damien Vesper, Iris nodded. "Yeah, I—WOAH."

Everyone rushed inside the five story, well furnished, ornate, servant-swarming mansion except Lapulta and Iris, who glanced around suspiciously. They were, after all, complete founder freaks.

* * *

><p>Hello rushed into the mansion, thinking hard. She really didn't understand why she was so scared of Damien anymore. But the sane side made itself known. Were those glances suspicious? Had he guessed who they really were? Hello looked behind her and saw Iris and Lapulta slowly trudging along. Shrugging, she ran to catch up with Eva and Arieda.<p>

"So, any plans on fixing the time machine?"

Eva frowned. "I don't know, but we have to keep Damien away from it while keeping Olivia and Madeleine safe at the same time."

Arieda's brow furrowed. "That's going to be hard."

Hello shook her head. "No, not too hard. Olivia changed her last name, remember? So now Damien doesn't know the location of Madeleine or Olivia."

"Well, yeah, but that's only one problem. How are we going to check up on Olivia without her panicking and thinking we're Vesper's agents? And how are we going to check up on both of them without disappearing for long periods of time?"

"For the latter, well, we'll cross that hurdle when we get there. But for the former, do you think we should just tell her the truth?" Hello shook her head uncertainly even as she spoke.

"No, that would be too dangerous." Arieda shook her head decisively.

"Okay, so maybe we can befriend Madeleine first. If she trusts us, then Olivia is also more likely to trust us, right?"

"Well, that could work," interjected Iris from behind them, having finally caught up. "However, we should make a Plan B…y'know…just in case that doesn't work."

Hello nodded. "But we have to focus on the task at hand. How are we—"

There was frantic hand motion from Arieda, a concentrated glare from Iris, an open-mouthed whisper of _'Hello!'_ from Lapulta, and a sharp jab in the side paired with a motion towards Damien from Eva.

Hello lowered her voice. "How are we going to kill Damien?"

Iris looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure…do you really think we should kill Damien? It could drastically change the course of history."

Hello nodded at the suggestion. "Maybe we should just kill him indirectly, you know. For example, rig his traps to set off while he's checking them, etcetera."

Lapulta shook her head. "I don't know about that. I mean, what if he catches us?"

"Well, there are a lot of 'what ifs.' We just need to make a plan (a good one at that), practice it, and perfect all the loopholes. We should probably talk about this later in private," Eva tacked on quickly as Damien began to make his way toward them, leading them deeper into his mansion.

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><p><strong>What's this? I've updated?<strong>

**Oh, but I have. ;D**

**Reviews are like roasting marshmallows; I luffle them, but give me burnt ones and-**


	3. Chapter 3

**One thing you should know: I'm (Iris is) part Vesper. That should clear something up here.**

As Damien led the girls farther and farther into his mansion, nobody noticed as Lapulta lingered behind. Everybody passed her, and she was at the end, nobody noticed as she stopped following altogether.

Lapulta only looked over her shoulder once. It was cruel, she knew, to leave them in the clutches of Damien alone, but this had to be done, and to protect Olivia and the yet unborn baby was far higher than the price she had to pay: missing out killing Damien.

She left the mansion, shuddering as a thin mist covered the island. Damien's dock was covered in multiple people unloading a shipment that had just come in. Lapulta shuddered at the thought of what it could be. Slowly, she worked her way up onto the mainland through the tall grasses and onto a relative plateau where it was level. Suddenly she saw a figure in the distance. Someone with a shovel—the crumbling remains of the Cahill house juxtaposed darkly in the distance.

_Ow!_ Lapulta jumped around on one foot, cursing the tombstone with all her might. The great ancestor of Madeleine Cahill herself had no right to prevent a person from protecting her own namesake!

Steeling herself and wincing as she braced on her good foot, Lapulta set her steps forward and went to meet Olivia.

* * *

><p>All the girls followed silently behind Damien. It was much too dangerous to talk about Cahills in front of him, they'd agreed, but Eva suddenly stopped and whispered…<p>

"Hey, has anyone seen Lapulta?"

Hello. "No. She was just behind us, though, so she's probably just trailed behind."

Everyone turned. No one was there.

"Well, this puts a dark spin on things."

"What happened to her?" Iris looked worried.

"I don't know…maybe I should go check."

"I'll come with you," Arieda said quickly.

Eva grabbed Arieda by the arm. "Oh no you don't! Two people are plenty enough. If you go, Damien will _definitely _notice."

"Eva, do you want to find Lappy?"

"Of course, but—"

"I said, do you want to find Lappy?"

A pause.

"Fine. Go."

"Good. Now come on, Arieda."

* * *

><p>Iris glared at the retreating backs. She wasn't stupid, and she had a pretty good idea of where Lapulta was going.<p>

So now that she was faced with three choices, she decided to make one of her infamous pro/con charts. Yipdeedoo. Her LA teacher would be so proud.

A) Go after Lapulta

Pros—Madeleine and Olivia. Iris smiled like a lunatic just at the thought of meeting them. Also, there was the Laps factor—Lapulta was her best friend in the whole entire group. In addition, she'd be away from her…_forefather._ Ugh. Iris shivered just thinking the word.

Cons—Hello and Arieda were already going after her. Was she wasting valuable support for nothing? And Eva would almost definitely get caught, unless Damien had some form of amnesia. Besides, she wanted to kill the Vesper…

B) Stay with Damien

Pros—Killing Damien. OH YES. She had a life ambition, after all. One's life ambition is not easily given up on, and Iris's life ambition happened to be parading Damien's head on a stick down every street. Plus, she'd be helping her friends and sticking with Eva, who was, after all, her second best friend in the group.

C) Leave alone, rebuild the time machine, and blast herself back into the twentieth century.

Yes, this idea at first glance seemed so cringe-worthy that it barely even deserved a pro/con chart. However, the more Iris thought about it, the better of an idea it seemed. Laps, Hello, Arieda, and Eva were more than capable of managing on their own. Rebuilding the machine was not a problem—Ekaterina genes would easily kick in, and she _was_, after all, an Ekaterina, no matter how many times her friends forgot. Her Vesper lineage gave her an undefinable dark edge that seemed to make everone draw away from her. Of course, she would probably be dubbed the worst friend ever, but getting away from the horrible pro factor Iris had tried to deny existed until now seemed to balance the heavy con—getting away from the monstrous feeling that had been building in her chest since she had first learned about Vespers and her ancestral line.

Iris ground her teeth together and scowled openly at Eva, watching as Eva scowled at Damien.

And she did something she never did.

She gave up on something she'd been denying with all her might for as long as she could remember.

She admitted it to herself, if not to the world.

She respected Damien.

Not loved—_respected. _But for some reason, she'd always felt more connected with her Vesper forefather than any Cahill had ever been with her. She understood why Damien had tested Gideon, she understood his fleeting shame, then spontaneous anger. She would lie in her bed on sleepless nights, closing her eyes, imagining _herself_ dropping the burning branch and setting it down on Lapulta's, Ninja's Rage's, Eva's house, waiting only to see if the job was done, then turning back without a second thought. Perhaps more importantly so (or maybe worst of all), she understood the lust to kill.

That did it.

Iris glanced at Eva, drew her back a bit, and hissed fiercely in her ear.

"Clover, cover for me. I'm going after Laps."

"What?" Eva frowned. "Don't leave me alone with Vesper! C'mon!"

"Oh, _you_ come on, Nessi! Think of all the fun! Living in this mansion—oh, don't look at me like that, you have to admit this mansion's pretty sweet."

"Nothing you say will make me let you go willingly."

"Oh, Eva, don't be so difficult! Think about it! Recon missions, the rich lifestyle, and killing Damien Vesper all by yourself!"

"Oh, now _the latter_ I could handle."

"You'll do it then?"

"I've got a super-dee-duper bad feeling about this, but fine."

"Thanks, Eva! You're the best friend anyone could have."

Iris glanced at Damien, who was still bragging about his vast wealth, then rolled behind a marble statuette and frowned, a tear threatening but not quite rolling down her face.

Why couldn't the families bond? Madeleine's goal was complete, but Iris's was not. The world was not black and white, but immersed in various shades of grey—and Damien, albeit one of the darker shades, was good enough for Iris's liking.

But, she thought to herself as she tumbled out the window, she could not stay here any longer. She would not let her feelings best her.

"Goodbye…father."

She would not whisper that word to him or his household again. She would _not._

She set off toward the mainland. Whether Option A or Option C turned out to be the one she chose, both carried her across distant shore to her mother Madeleine's home, as her father Vesper slowly drifted to the back of her mind.

She did not look twice. She did not look back.

* * *

><p>Hello and Arieda walked the familiar path out of the mansions. It had taken them a few minutes to figure out which way to go, but in the end they had managed to exit the mansion. Hello covered her eyes as the blazing sun shone down upon her. She knew that she only had to track down Lapulta, but she wished she could see Madeleine, her many times great grandmother. Hello looked over at Arieda and smiled.<p>

"Come on, let's—"

Hello was cut off as Arieda pulled her away from the entrance and pushed her down into the bushes. Quite literally.

"Hey!" Hello exclaimed, spitting leaves and swatting bees.

Arieda put a finger to her lips, signaling for her to be quiet.

Hello looked at Arieda with a mixture of curiosity and playful anger, still wiping berry stains off the front of her shirt as she crawled off the hedge. Arieda pointed to the window from which Iris had just clambered outside…without Eva. Hello frowned and looked quizzically at Arieda, who shrugged.

"You go ahead and follow Iris, Arieda. I'll go check on Eva. _Someone_ needs to retain an ounce of common sense," sighed Hello, nodding at Iris. Arieda nodded and Hello ran inside the mansion.

Twisting and turning wildly, Hello careened around another corner, about ready to face the truth that she had lost them, when she saw Eva and Damien slowly meandering down the corridors. Hello ran up to her, and Eva looked surprised but relieved. Suddenly, Damien stopped and turned.

"Weren't there more you?"

"No, just the two of us."

Damien's steely gaze fixed on Hello for a second, but he turned and then started talking again.

"That was close," Hello muttered.

"Very close," Eva agreed.

"Too close. Let's not do that again."


	4. Chapter 4

**To the characters of this story:**

**It's been so long-but today I opened my window and it was raining. I looked out that window for all of fifteen minutes, dead to the world, not really thinking of anything. When I came back, I couldn't write anything on what I was working on and I couldn't find myself to do something pointless and trivial. So I opened Word and thought of you.**

**I don't think any of you are left who will find the motivation or willingness to read it; I think I'll update this for the few that will. Or maybe just for some sort of personal retribution.**

**Unless you want to be confused or bored or whatever else comes out of this, please, don't read it. I posted this solely for personal comfort. Between this chapter and the last I'm pretty sure there's been over six months-I'm not even bothering to check. I don't talk to you guys anymore. Almost at all. If I do update this, it'll be extremely sporadic. But I swear to god I'll finish this-for myself, if no one else.**

**Thanks.**

* * *

><p>Both Eva and Hello looked at Damien's back, bored out of their minds. The hallways were beginning to change shape, darkening, and the torches that lit the passages beginning to slow, the windows disappearing. The darkness grew deeper, almost as if they were going underground. Damien noticed nothing, too self-absorbed was he; unless he'd just traveled the passageway itself too many times to take notice of it any more.<p>

Suddenly he whirled around, his cold dark eyes turning darker—if that was possible. An arm flung back, pinning Eva up against a side wall, just under a torch, by her throat. Hello screamed as Eva grappled frantically with the choking hands; Damien paid her no attention.

"Who is your employer?!"

For all his boasts, his voice was sharp and deep now—drastically different. Hello could only stare wide-eyed at Eva, horrified.

Damien pressed an arm higher and shoved Eva up. A gurgling noise started from the bottom of the girl's throat; the torch above seemed to be giving off too much heat—or was it just her? "Tell me. _Who is your employer?!_"

Hello jerked to her senses. "We don't have an employer! We don't! We don't!" She tugged frantically at Damien's arm, half-sobbing with fear.

Damien planted a foot on her stomach and shoved her away. "Stupid little girl. Who told you to wear those? Those…_things." _The word that was supposed to mean 'clothes' stood with intense dislike and disgust. Apparently they should've worn dresses before they climbed into the time machine.

Eva was gasping now—the torch alone was right above her. She would be choked to death if her t-shirt didn't catch fire first.

"No one! Let her _go!_" But Hello could only sit on the floor now, sobbing too hard to get up.

Damien's lip curled in a disgusted snarl. Eva dropped on the ground beside Hello; apparently, for all her MewMew powers she'd joked about, they didn't exist in real life. "You will stay here until you make it clear," Damien hissed, pressing an unseen button on the wall. A wall that looked like it was fit for a dungeon door slammed down between them. "And, in the meantime, I'll go kill the others."

Hello cried; how could they win if they'd already failed?

* * *

><p>Arieda caught up with Iris's retreating form. Steeling her nerves, she whispered, "Where are you going?"<p>

Iris slowly turned around. "Aren't you supposed to be ahead of me? And where's Hello?"

Arieda shrunk back. For some reason, she felt comfortable with the rest of the group, but Iris…no. Iris was very kind, she could see that easily, but it was more of an instinctual feeling that was telling Arieda to stay away from her. Maybe it was just the fact that Arieda didn't know her very well…

But she was one of the people that knew the truth about Iris, and she knew that no one would accept her after they heard the truth. Being Half-Vesper wasn't something she was very proud of.

"She went back with Eva. She told me to help you search for Lappy…if that's what you're doing, of course."

Iris looked at her for a minute, calculating options.

"Fine. Follow me."

* * *

><p>Lapulta had dreamed—real dreams, mind you—that she would someday meet Madeleine Elizabeth Cahill in the flesh. At the bottom of her heart, she knew that…(alright) Madeleine really didn't have black hair, and…(actually) she never knew her brothers and sisters as a family. But it was so good to dream, and either way, even hugging the little baby-Madeleine would be alright. Because she knew, deep down in her heart, that Madeleine would still be the same. The configuration would be the same, if not the hardware.<p>

The girl smiled, forgetting her stubbed toe. Oh—life really _was_ good.

"Who are thee?" The voice was soft, but sorrow-filled and heavy with melancholy hints. "If you are one of Vesper's he is leaving. I would not advise you to be left behind, knowing his temper." Of course, she had gotten a bunt of his temper herself.

Lapulta took a step forward. "I'm not a Vesper," she whispered softly, leaning forward amidst the tall grasses. "I'm—I'm—" A what? A Cahill? Technically…Lapulta didn't even think of the messes that thought would cause. "I'm lost. I came here with my father, but he left, and i don't know where he went. I was supposed to stay with him, but…"

Olivia stood up.

There were beads of perspiration dripping from her forehead; her eyes were tired, hurt, and pain-filled, yet she still had a small smile for a lost girl. "Is he a fellow of Damien Vesper? If so, the main house is down there, by the water."

Lapulta shook her head. "I don't know."

"Well," Olivia looked down at the ground once. Lapulta looked away. "Give me a moment, then I can help you find your father."

Lapulta nodded once, then sat down on the ground, almost not daring to look at the corpse of Gideon nearby.

* * *

><p>Iris had no intention of sticking with Arieda. There was no metaphorical glue stick, her not knowing Arieda too well at all. Arieda also seemed a bit like a couple of the other people—rather scared of her, a bit on the side of I'm-edging-my-chair-away-from-you-as-you-think feeling. She knew it was probably in her head, but it didn't really matter at this point.<p>

Iris had every intention of letting Arieda be with Madeleine and Olivia. After all, everyone deserved the right to be with their own family. She herself felt the undeniable urge to seek out Olivia, tell her everything, comfort her.

Iris had no intention of doing just what she wanted. If she was going to drag herself down to the dock kicking herself furiously, she would. Lapulta, Hello, Arieda, Eva—all of them were taking care of business here, on Cahill Island. Iris had business elsewhere, though: checking on the siblings.

Iris had every intention of getting herself on her own. She had had less time to think to herself, lately, and she felt (for some unfathomable reason) that the journey she must undertake the find the secret of a family gone wrong must be a journey undertaken alone.

* * *

><p>Hello paced back and forth in the small, filthy cell. She glanced sporadically at Eva, hoping that she would respond to something. Hello sighed and plopped down on the hard, cold floor. Eva stared with blank, vacant eyes, and knew that Hello was thinking something along the lines of Eva's thoughts.<p>

_It's hopeless. We've failed._

The only thing they could do now as hope that Arieda had caught up with Iris and that the two were now on their way to find Iris. Hello looked at Eva and Eva nodded, a sign that they were thinking along the same lines.

Hello frowned. "Hey, Eva?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't tell anyone about this, but I don't feel very comfortable around Iris. It's always this bad feeling that I can't understand, but…oh, forget it. Eva, what are we going to do?"

The whisper rang across the room, and there was no reply. No one would come and help them. All they had was each other.

Hello stood up, and Eva tried to follow, thoughts chasing around her head like a cat chasing its own tail.

_Mew Ichigo would've gotten up…Mew Ichigo would've gotten up…_

Eva's eyes closed as her limbs remained unresponsive.

_Mew Ichigo would've gotten up…_

Finally, after a few minutes, Eva's eyes fluttered open.

_I may not be a real Mew Mew, but I have the strength to pretend to be one…_

Hello leaned against the wall, bowing her head and slowly cradling her face in her hands, heaving dry sobs, pressing the bars. "Help," she whispered.

There was, naturally, no answer.

"I don't deserve to be a Cahill," Hello muttered bitterly.

"Yes, yes yo-you do-do," Eva said hoarsely, trying to stand up. Failing, she collapsed again and raised a hand. "A little help he-here?"

Hello whipped her head around, smiling sheepishly when she saw Eva lying on the ground.

"Sorry 'bout that," she said, helping her stand.

Eva rubbed the dark rings around her neck where Damien had choked her. "Great. Now my boyfriend's gonna ask about this."

Hello yelped, quirking an eyebrow and letting go of Eva, who almost fell into the wall. "YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?! Who?! When?! How?!"

Eva rolled her eyes and held up her hands. "Yes, I have a boyfriend, but now's not the time to discuss him. Where are the others? For God's sake, we can't get separated in a place like this! And now that Damien knows we're fakes, the whole castle will be on alert!"

Hello smirked in reply. "Not to worry. I think I just found an escape route." Hello sat down again, patting the sewer vent she was now seated comfortably on. "All our problems can be solved this way. Plus, it's kind of our only hope…"

Eva laughed harshly at Hello's added mutter before shuddering as a trickle of grimy liquid (hopefully not urine) ran into the sewer. _A sewer?_ _Ew._

Then, a small smile spread on her face. _The Mew Mews once scoured the sewers! I can act out what happened!_

"Let's go!" she said eagerly.

"Uh…Okay…If you say so…" Hello said uncertainly, opening the vent, taking care to avoid the liquid.

Eva lowered herself in a bit, checking for guards. When she didn't see or hear anything, she whipped out a flashlight and dropped a few feet to the ground.

"Coast's clear!" She called.

Swinging around the flashlight, Eva stepped forward a few feet, Hello dropping close behind her.

_Now, let's hope Damien doesn't keep alligators around as pets._


End file.
